With a wildly successful daytime talk show, a spokesperson gig for JCPenney, and a history of groundbreaking activism, Ellen DeGeneres is the perfect person to win the 15th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor this year.

Ellen will be honored (and hopefully roasted by some star performers) on October 22 in a tribute show to be televised later.

Her hilarious take on the whole she-bang: “It’s such an honor to receive the Mark Twain Prize. To get the same award that has been given to people like Bill Cosby, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell, it really makes me wonder… Why didn’t I get this sooner?”

It can be easy to forget that, when Ellen came out on her eponymous sitcom in 1997, that she began to lose viewers as she was accused of getting overly political. Her career bounced back when she voiced Dory in Finding Nemo in 2003 and launched her talk show Ellen in the same year.

Congrats, Ellen! I’ve always been jealous of her casually hilarious brand of observational humor. Perhaps she’ll teach me a thing or two someday.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Ellen has the best timing in standup. She can ask for a piece of soup and make it funny just with a well placed pause.
On the other hand, why they are giving the Mark Twain prize to shallow Hollywood celebs is beyond me. Twain was critical of the status quo, not like this group whose lips are chapped from so much a– kissing.
Bottom line, though, congrats to Ellen. She’s a great spokes queen for us, and an example of queer excellence.

May 16, 2012 at 10:52 am · @Reply ·

Spike

So not funny. The only reason her studio audience laughs is because of all the free stuff they give away. Come whatch my show and laugh and you will get lots of crap.

@Evan Mulvihill: Actually, no I am not. Go watch the show, or google ‘Ellen, 25 Days of Christmas’ and get back to me. BTW, the give a ways are weekly, excessive and sponsor driven. The show is not funny and her stand up is lame.

May 16, 2012 at 2:45 pm · @Reply ·

LandStander

@Spike:
@james:
“In the beginning there was nothing. God said, ‘Let there be light!’ And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better.”

“My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety-seven now, and we don’t know where the hell she is.”

“If we don’t want to define ourselves by things as superficial as our appearances, we’re stuck with the revolting alternative of being judged by our actions.”

– Ellen DeGeneres (a very, very funny person!)

May 16, 2012 at 10:40 pm · @Reply ·

1equalityUSA

I like her because she not mean. That is a feat. This says a lot about her heart. To be so funny and not have any cruelty in her repertoire is skillful and something for which she should be proud. Good job, Ellen.